DRIFT-NET FISHING. 113 



cation of there being plenty of fisli in the neiglibour- 

 hood. We cannot agree with Mr. Mitchell. when he 

 remarks, that the fishermen " trust too much to the ap- 

 pearance of waterfowl, the larger fishes (cetacea ?), &c. ; 

 and although there may be great abundance of herrings 

 in one place, they may be misled by these appearances, 

 and go to another place, when the sole circumstance of 

 a few sickly herrings swimming near the surface takes 

 them from the proper fishing ground." ^ The fact of 

 herrings swimming near the surface is surely no sign of 

 their being sickly, if indeed such a term can be com- 

 monly applied to shoals, however small, of these fish, 

 unless after being possibly exhausted by spawnings 

 towards the end of the season. Good herrings often 

 come to the surface, as is well known to all fishermen, 

 and they do so at any time in the season, depending 

 probably more on conditions of weather than anything 

 else. Grannets and other sea birds would be considerably 

 at fault if their instincts led them day after day and 

 week after week to trust to the chance of getting only 

 a few sickly fish ; and the presence of porpoises and the 

 larger cetacea is certainly a sign of there being an attrac- 

 tion in the shape of plenty of food. The shoals of fish 

 may be large or small, but it is contrary to very long- 

 experience that such " appearances" are not well deserv- 

 ing of attention. Herrings do not remain long in one 

 place, and it is the object of the fisherman to keep as 

 much as possible with the general body of fish gradually 

 working towards the shore. The boats may make a 

 good fishing one night, and in the absence during the 

 following day of any particular indications of fish they 

 may remain about the same place for the next night ; 

 but they are not likely to make a mistake if they follow 



1 History of the Iltrriug, pp. 82, 83 (1864). 



I 



